What you need to know
The market for vehicle recovery services has been buoyant in recent years benefitting from an expanding car parc and the relatively good performance delivered by the UK economy. Revenues were £1.79 billion in 2018, 19.5% ahead of those in 2014, while policies issued were 31.0 million in 2018, 7% up on 2014. However, with new car sales currently in decline and an economy that is slowing, the market faces a challenging period.
Within the sector there is a shift towards policies that are offered for free with the purchase of a vehicle, service or product. Mintel estimates such policies take a commanding 59% of the consumer market in 2019 with their profile up on 46% of the market in 2013.
Although the vehicle recovery market has long been dominated by a trio of three competitors (AA, RAC and Green Flag), recent years have seen two notable developments: first the establishment of a number of smaller competitors as key challengers; and, more recently, a resurgence in the fortunes of the RAC which has strengthened its presence since 2018.
Mintel’s exclusive research notes how price is the most important factor for those choosing a vehicle recovery company, cited by 62% as compared to 36% for the next most important, namely range of products offered. Digital methods of communication are of growing importance amongst policy holders. Email is the most preferred method (55%) with use of websites (18%), mobile apps (16%), text messaging (14%) and social media (12%) also receiving sizeable interest.
Products covered in this Report
This Report covers vehicle breakdown recovery services available to car owners, whether on a direct or indirect basis, as is common in the marketplace.
The value of the vehicle recovery services market is made up of fees from memberships, paid either directly or indirectly, as well as revenue from the ad hoc sector.
Membership fees comprise any premiums paid to ensure that a vehicle or person is insured in the event of a breakdown. Fees can be paid either direct by the consumer to the recovery company or indirectly through an intermediary that will offer insurance to the consumer often as part of a bundle of services.
The value of the ad hoc sector is revenue from motorists who are not members of an organisation and therefore use the services of a recovery operator – normally an independent – on an informal or ad hoc basis.
